Muscat: Relevant technical committees are working on determining the form and nature of the unified tourist visa, according to the GCC Secretary-General, Jasem Mohamed al Budaiwi.
He made the statement at the eighth ministerial meeting of GCC Ministers of Tourism in Doha on Monday.
The Sultanate of Oman delegation at the meeting was headed by the Minister of Heritage and Tourism, Salem bin Mohammed al Mahrouqi, at the meeting.
Al Budaiwi said, "Committees are studying the way the unified visa shall work in preparation for presenting it according to the systems and laws of all GCC countries. The unified tourist visa aims to attract foreign tourist flows to the GCC countries. The unified visa project will make it easier for tourists and visitors to move between the GCC countries easily and conveniently, with a hope that the tourism sector would benefit from this visa once it is implemented."
The meeting also discussed activating the initiatives of the Gulf Tourism Strategy, joint promotional packages between the GCC countries.
The Sultanate recorded over four million visitor arrivals in 2023, which included 2.1 million three to five-star hotel guests.
According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), 610,000 Indian nationals visited the country, behind 1.6 million GCC nationals.
Among others, 231,000 Germans 150,000 Yemenis, and 118,000 Chinese nationals visited the country in 2023
In 2023, there were 92,931 flight departures and 81, 987 flight arrivals from India.
The Sultanate of Oman offers simplified e-visas for Indian nationals. Some categories of Indian passport holders can avail visa-free entry for 14 days.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
